Chelsea 'in talks' to permanently end Romelu Lukaku nightmare spell
- Lukaku has spent last two seasons on loan at Inter and Roma
- 31-year-old has two years left on Chelsea contract
- Belgian striker hoping to reunite with Antonio Conte at Napoli
Chelsea and Napoli are holding talks over the permanent transfer of Romelu Lukaku, according to reports.
The 31-year-old rejoined Chelsea in the summer of 2021 for a then club-record £97.5m fee, but quickly fell out of favour after a difficult first year back at Stamford Bridge.
Lukaku penned a five-year contract when he returned to Chelsea, having played a starring role in Inter's 2020/21 Serie A title win, and his high wages have prevented him from leaving on a permanent basis despite it being clear that he has no future in west London.
Inter took Lukaku on loan during the 2022/23 season and Roma did the same last season – spells that yielded 23 goals in 57 Serie A appearances – but Chelsea aren't prepared to entertain another temporary exit.
Sky Sports report that a long-rumoured move to Napoli, which would reunite Lukaku with his former manager Antonio Conte, is now firmly on the cards, with the two sides discussing the structure of a permanent transfer.
The Belgian has already agreed personal terms with Napoli and is keen to work with Conte once more, having played arguably the best football of his career under the Italian's management.
A deal could finally facilitate an exit from Napoli from Victor Osimhen – a long-term target of Chelsea's but also a primary focus for Ligue 1 giants Paris Saint-Germain.
Lukaku will need to take a significant wage cut for Napoli to be able to afford the deal, but it's claimed he's willing to do whatever it takes to finally bring his spell at Chelsea to an end.
While Lukaku's Chelsea stint didn't work out as planned, he has enjoyed previous success as a Premier League striker. Successful loan spells at West Bromwich Albion and Everton earned Lukaku a permanent move to the latter and he would become a prolific goalscorer for the Toffees, scoring 25 league goals in his final season on Merseyside.
Manchester United coughed up £75m for Lukaku in the summer of 2017, where he continued to score goals despite failing to hit the same heights as he achieved at Everton. Two goal-laden years at Inter followed after another big-money transfer, prompting Chelsea to part with close to £100m to re-sign a player they first recruited from Anderlecht in 2011.
Lukaku failed to gel with then head coach Thomas Tuchel and hasn't been reintegrated into Chelsea's squad by any of his successors.
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